


Distance

by WaywardSpark



Series: The Soulmate Journals [2]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Planning ahead? Don't know her, Tags to be added as soon as I figure out whatever the hell is going on, Uni!lock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-10 13:18:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15292359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaywardSpark/pseuds/WaywardSpark
Summary: A self-indulgent sequel, because I wasn't ready to abandon this au just yet.





	1. Prologue: 17th February 1998

**Author's Note:**

> A self-indulgent sequel, because I wasn't ready to abandon this au just yet.

Dear Mr John Watson,

On behalf of everyone at Edinburgh University, I am pleased to congratulate you on our acceptance of your application. We were very impressed by your academic history and achievements and feel that you would make an excellent addition to the Edinburgh University alumni.

Please find all the necessary enrollment forms enclosed with this letter, as well as all the details on the bursary and other financial support given to you. We appreciate your filling them out and returning them to us soon. If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to contact us.

We wish you all the best and thank you for choosing Edinburgh University.  
Yours sincerely,

____________, Head of Medicine at Edinburgh University, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

__________________________ 

Dear Mr Sherlock Holmes

We are delighted to grant you a place at Kings College, Cambridge University, to study Natural Sciences.

Attached is a recommended reading list in order to prepare for your studies next year, additional course costs, and a list of accommodation choices with prices, as well as any financial support you may need.

We wish you luck in the next phase of your academic career and thank you to applying for Kings College, Cambridge University.

Yours sincerely

______________, Head of Kings College, Cambridge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [here](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/221carnationsonthewall)


	2. August 27th 1998

Inviting John on the Family Holiday with the Holmes' was possibly the best idea Mrs Holmes has ever had. And coming from Sherlock, this was a very high compliment indeed.

Previous summers had been...lonely at best. Each year, for two weeks, they hired out the same villa in the South of France, next to a beach and with a swimming pool. Sherlock was not interested in swimming, and the beach was too full of irritating tourists and Mr Holmes insisting on throwing a ball at him, as though any sane human would derive pleasure from catching and throwing balls. From the ages of one to eleven, Sherlock had had Mycroft for company, either to play games with - mostly Pirates - or to help with experiments (or, in one memorable summer, to be the subject of experimentation, particularly on the reaction of the human digestive system to the consumption of seawater. The results were messy and Mrs Holmes had banned experimenting on family members thenceforth. Sherlock hadn't dared to argue but it was well worth it. Particularly as a suitable punishment for Mycroft abandoning Sherlock for university in Oxford the following autumn.) After Mycroft stopped going on family holidays to focus on work, Sherlock had only his books and boredom. That was until he had his soulmate journal to talk to John with. And now, this year, John was here himself, not just as words on a page or a voice in a phone. 

John joining Sherlock on the Family Holiday meant that the two of them had two whole weeks - weeks! Not days! - of each others' company. Two weeks of waking up with John, having breakfast with John, swimming with John, walking with John, sleeping with John. Sherlock’s life was thoroughly consumed. And somehow, in that time, they didn’t fall out even once. Sherlock had expected to become irritated by something at some point - John's gentle snoring which he adamantly denied, his early-bird behaviour every single morning, any reason at all - but it never occurred. John, meanwhile never stopped grinning adoringly at him, even when Sherlock brought back dead crabs and starfish from the beach in a bucket to dissect, and then made their hotel room smell of fish for the next 48 hours.

Though they spent their time in constant proximity, seeing each other every day was not enough to drive them mad, as it may be with other couples. Because, at least from Sherlock's perspective, holidaying with John meant he was constantly greeted with a spectacular view of him every day. While Sherlock felt utterly disgusting in the summer - a sort of pink, sweaty, fatigued mess that reminded him of a blobfish whenever he was forced to look at a reflection of himself (though John insisted he looked adorable with slightly sunburnt nose and cheeks) - John had turned brown, practically luminescent in the sun, and always energetic with an eagerness for walks and swims and the occasional cricket game on the beach with Mr Holmes. Walking around all day in his swim shorts - the very flattering kind - he looked golden. A veritable Apollo, in Sherlock’s opinion. He would worship the ground he walked on if it wasn’t for the heat exhaustion. Instead, he stayed in his deck chair in the shade as much as possible, watching John from behind his book as he climbed out of the pool with wet, golden skin, his shorts clinging to his thighs, and he made plans for a way to show his appreciation later in the day.

Which, incidentally, exhausted him into a much more regular sleep schedule, including the delights of sleeping in until almost midday. John, for this reason, was pleased with himself no end, as well as less bothersome about Sherlock's wellbeing.

So, yes, all in all, it was a wonderful summer.

Which is why it came as such a shock to him when he woke up to find John fully dressed in his t-shirt and shorts, and packing up his things into his suitcase. 

Sherlock sat up abruptly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, then observed John, who continued to pack with a calm precision with the suitcase and piles of his t-shirts and shorts on the bed. Each time an item of clothing was packed away was like a drop of cold water down Sherlock's neck. “What are you doing?”

“I thought that was rather obvious, isn’t it?” John replied, a gentle smile spreading across his face in amusement, entirely unaware and peacefully oblivious to Sherlock's panic. His irritation flared.

“Yes, it is. But why?”

“We’re leaving first thing tomorrow morning, and I wanted to get a head start and be organised.”

Were they leaving? That couldn't be right. Time was utterly inconsequential here. And even if it were, there was no way it could pass by so quickly, before Sherlock could even appreciate and make the most of it. After all, there were still many things left on his list of 'things to do with John Watson now that we'll be together for more than an overnight stay.' Such as coming up with a shorter title for his list. He frowned. “No, we’re not.”

“Yes, we are.”

“No. We’re here another three days at least.”

John chuckled again. “Sherlock...what day do you think it is today?”

“Monday.”

He laughed. “Not even close. Thursday. Get up, you have to pack too.”

Sherlock whined, 'No', turning over with his back facing John and curling up stubbornly into a ball underneath the covers, heat be damned. "This is completely unfair."

"God, I know. What sort of sadistic person would possibly expect you to leave a villa which you don't technically own?"

Sherlock turns his head to pout at John. "You know what I mean. We've had two weeks with each other. Two weeks. And now we're going to have to separate again. Who knows how long it will be before we meet again?”

“It won’t be that long, you drama queen.”

Sherlock huffed indignantly at the nickname, even if there was some truth to it. Spending time with John seemed to be something that would go on forever. Now that it was ending, he couldn't shake off the feeling of impending doom, the one which had twisted his stomach when John first called to say he would be living in the arse end of Scotland (in Sherlock's opinion) for the next five years while studying medicine. “You say that now, but just you wait. We’ll have coursework, essays, practical exams to prepare for. You'll be worried about train journey budgets. I just hate the idea of going to somewhere as cold and miserable as Scotland regularly abysmal. And then we grow apart and what are we left with? Short letters once a month out of courtesy to the other to let them know they're alive."

"You can't seriously think that."

"I can, and I will. It was fine in school. Back when we first met, we considered having to fill in a

"You have a very active imagination in the morning," John remarked softly, taking pity on Sherlock as he climbed back into bed, curling up behind him in an embrace. Out of protest, Sherlock tried to hide the hum of contentment, the way he visibly relaxed into the weight of John's arms around him. "Nothing like that will happen, I promise," he said gently. "Even disregarding the fact that I love you too much to limit talking to you to once a month, have you any idea how unlikely it is for soulmates to grow apart during uni?"

"Three per cent of couples," Sherlock admitted. "Six per cent due to long distance overall. Still far too many. And I don't exactly have the strongest track record of being statistically probable."

"I can't tell if that's self-deprecating or bragging."

"To be honest, neither can I."

"...Right. Anyway, you honestly have nothing to worry about." John pressed a kiss to the back of Sherlock's neck, feather light. "I could have a dozen papers due in and I'd still want to make time to meet you. If anything," he chuckles, "I should be worried about you. Down there in Cambridge, all the intelligent public school lot who shop at Waitrose for groceries..."

"John, if you think I would be remotely interested in any of them you clearly don't know me at all."

He continued regardless, teasing in a wistful, romantic voice, "Maybe you'll brush hands as you both reach for the same cheeseboard...lock eyes over the table at a formal meal in your gowns... both correct a professor at the same time by reciting pi to the twentieth digit. And that's when you know - he's the one."

"'The one' being a human of no relevance to me," Sherlock mumbled back. 

"See? Nothing to worry about." John kissed him again, this time just behind his ear, making him shiver and his lips twitch into a reluctant smile. "For either of us."

A calming breath. Silence.

"John."

"Yes?"

"Seeing as this is our last full day together before September, I was wondering if we could just spend it here."

"In the villa? Yeah, I had assumed that's what we had planned already."

"No." His skin heated up, though he would blame this on the weather and the boyfriend currently curled around him, rather than any sort of embarrassment or prudishness. John called it adorable that he couldn't make requests, even innocent ones, without blushing. Sherlock found it humiliating. "Here. Specifically. In bed."

He could feel John grin against his skin. "That's not very sociable."

"But luckily, my parents are out of the villa today, most likely looking around the nearby town for souvenirs or wine."

"Oh?"

"We would have heard father calling us down for breakfast by now otherwise. Also, I heard them talking about it yesterday." Conveniently loud enough for Sherlock to hear and fully aware of the significance of their last day in the villa together. Mr and Mrs Holmes were cleverer than their sons cared to admit.

"Mmh, very observant of you. So, how long do we actually have before they come back?"

"Well, Father always spends hours looking at wines. They'd most likely want to stay in the village for a late lunch - you can make an omelette, they trust you to make sure I eat. Though we may not necessarily have all day to indulge, we still have the next - " Sherlock turned over to reach for John's watch on the bedside table, squashing John into making a small 'oof!' in protest as he leant across him - "Six hours."

"That sounds good enough for me." With a grin, John pulled Sherlock in for a kiss, and the watch fell down the side of the bed, forgotten. (It would later be found that evening, along with John's pyjama t-shirt.)

As long as the thought of their imminent separation was kept at bay, the world was at peace and Sherlock's mind knew nothing but bliss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Upon further research, it turns out that Cambridge does not do Chemistry as its own subject, but rather only as part of Natural Sciences or Chemical Engineering, the former of which seems most like what Sherlock would find appealing.
> 
>  
> 
> Check out my tumblr [here](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/221carnationsonthewall)


	3. September 14th 1998

Dear Sherlock

I’ve been on this train for half an hour and already I miss you like crazy. I don’t know how we’re going to survive being in desperate countries for weeks on end. It seems dramatic, because surely we should be used to this by now, but at least at sixth form we could see each other almost every other weekend. I have no idea what the work load will be like and...

No, I shouldn’t be this miserable. It’s not good for either of us. You were upset enough this morning without me exacerbating things. Besides, I should be looking forward to uni. And I am. I’m dead excited to meet new people and to live on my own and experience the Student Life (which deserves capital letters, if the way my aunts and uncles talk about it is anything to go by). And I hope you’re going to look forward to being at uni too - Cambridge!!! You’ll be with proper intelligent people there. People who know pi to a hundred digits and have actually read To Kill a Mockingbird and didn’t just make up that they have. You’ll be bored of me within a month! 

Thank you again for seeing me off at the station. And for your gift. I haven’t opened it yet as I’m waiting until I get there. Or when I get too bored of staring out of the window. We’ll see which one wins out first. I wish I could say that I did think to get you a gift as well but, let’s be honest (and your book did say that honesty is key to a good relationship with your soulmate, ha ha), I really haven’t. But I will. And I’ll send it to you soon so it will arrive by the time it’s your first day too. 

To be honest, I’m also writing because I’m bored. I have a ton of medical journals packed away in my bag I could be reading in preparation but honestly, I’ve read so much this summer I think I deserve a break. I have the next five years - hell, the rest of my working life - to read them. So this is the perfect time to write to you. Or I’m sure I could occupy a good amount of this journey reminiscing on this summer and how fun it was (the PG memories only! At least while I’m in public...) Like when you got sunburnt and spent a whole day in a sulk, curled up on the floor in our room like an adorable (red) hedgehog. Or when we raced each other in the pool, doing lengths until we were out of breath. I know I’ve said this before and you’re probably sick to death of it by know, but this was my best summer yet, Sherlock, and I can’t wait to spend more with you. Especially now that our summers are so much longer. 

Train journeys are going to be hell, going back and forth between home and uni for hours on end, with little to occupy my time. But it will be worth it if it means I can see you again.

Love, John

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [here](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/221carnationsonthewall)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this fic. I do have some idea of what is going to happen, so don't worry. Just a very vague one. Also, I have [a tumblr](https://221carnationsonthewall.tumblr.com) if you're interested in following.


End file.
